How Shadow Stole Christmas
by tsukiryoushi
Summary: Shadow decides to celebrate Christmas... Grinch style!Based on How The Grinch Stole Christmas By Dr. Seuss. Now includes a parody of the movie! Complete!
1. How Shadow Stole Christmas

I was sort of reluctant to put this up, I'm not sure if this is any good or not. I just got this idea one day & it's been bugging me ever since, so here it is! Please tell me what you think!

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_Everyone down in Station Square liked Christmas a lot._

_But Shadow, who lived just north of Station Square, did not._

_Shadow hated Christmas, the whole Christmas season. Now please don't ask why, I don't quite know the reason._

_It could be perhaps that his air-shoes were too tight,_

_Or it could be his quills weren't put on just right. _

_But I think that the most likely reason of all_

_May have been that his heart was two sizes too small._

_But whatever the reason, his heart or air-shoes,_

_He stood there on Christmas Eve… hating "those fools"._

_Staring out from his lair with a sour, shady frown_

_At the bright Christmas lights hung up throughout town._

_For he knew Sonic and friends down in Station Square_

_Were busy now, decorating their trees with care._

"And they're hanging up stockings." _He snarled with a sneer._

"Tomorrow is Christmas. It's practically here!"

_Then he growled with his gloved fingers nervously drumming._

"I must find a way to keep Christmas from coming!

For tomorrow I know…

All those Station Square girls and boys

Will wake bright and early to rush for their toys.

And then, oh the noise! Oh the noise, noise, noise, **noise**!!

Then Sonic and his friends will sit down to a feast.

And they'll feast. And they'll feast, and they'll feast, feast, feast!

They'll feast on chocolate pudding, and fresh hot roast beast!

And roast beast is a feast I can't stand in the least!"

_And the more Shadow thought of this Christmas-ing_

_The more he thought,_ "I must stop this whole thing!

Why, for year after year I've put up with it now!

I must stop Christmas from coming! But how?"

_Then Shadow got an idea, an awful idea._

_Shadow got a wonderful, awful idea!_

"I know just what to do!" _Shadow laughed in his throat._

_And he made a quick Santa Claus hat and a coat._

_He snickered and laughed at this Shadowy trick._

"With this coat and this hat I'll look just like St. Nick!"

_A reindeer was all that Shadow did need,_

_In order for his dastardly plan to succeed._

_Shadow looked around_

_But since reindeer are scarce there were none to be found._

_Did that stop Shadow? Ha! He simply said,_

"If I can't find a reindeer, I'll make one instead!"

_He took a Chao named Snax, and he took some black thread,_

_And he tied a big antler on top of its head._

_Then he loaded some bags and some old empty sacks_

_On a quickly built sleigh. Then he whistled for Snax._

_Snax pulled and struggled as best he could_

_To pull shadow and the sleigh from the spot where they stood._

_Until they finally came to the edge of town_

_And poor little Snax, from exhaustion fell down._

_All the windows were dark; no one knew he was there._

_Sonic and the others were dreaming sweet dreams without care,_

_When he came to the first little house in Station Square._

"This is stop number one." _Shadow Claus hissed,_

_As he jumped onto the roof, empty bags in his fist._

_Then he went down the chimney, a tight place to go,_

_But if Santa could do it, then so could Shadow._

_He got stuck only once, for a second or two,_

_Then he stuck his head out of the fireplace-flu_

_Where a little pink stocking was hung all alone._

"This stocking," _He said._ "Is the first thing to go."

_Then Shadow continued, each movement was swift,_

_He went 'round the whole room & took every gift._

_Then he went to the fridge & eyed the large feast._

_He took the chocolate pudding, and even the roast beast!_

_Then he cleaned out the cupboards in his usual calm mood,_

_And Shadow even took the last can of Chao food!_

_Then he stuffed gifts and food up the chimney with glee._

"And now" _Shadow grinned._ "I will stuff up the tree!"

_Shadow grabbed the tree, but as he started to shove_

_He heard a soft sound like the coo of a dove._

_He turned around fast to see a familiar sight._

_It was Amy Rose, who had come downstairs in the middle of the night._

"Shadow?" _She said._ "Why?

Why are you taking my Christmas tree? Why?"

_But you know, that Shadow is so smart and so slick,_

_He thought up a lie and he thought it up quick._

"Why my dear Amy Rose," _Shadow Claus lied._

"There's a light on this tree that won't light on one side.

So I'm taking it down to the work-shop my dear.

They'll fix it down there, and I'll bring it back here."

_Amy trusted Shadow with all her heart,_

_She hadn't suspected him even from the start._

_So she just nodded her head_

_And she told him goodnight and went back up to bed._

_And when Shadow was sure she was no longer up,_

_He went to the chimney and stuffed the tree up!_

_Then he went up himself, the old liar!_

_And the last thing he took was the log for her fire._

_On her walls he left nothing but hooks and some wire._

_And the one speck of food that was left behind now,_

_Was a crumb that was even too small for a Chao._

_He continued his mission from house to house,_

_Faster than a jet, but as quiet as a mouse._

_Until he'd taken it all, and for as far as the eye could see,_

_There wasn't a single stocking, light, or Christmas tree._

_It was a quarter till dawn, Sonic and friends were still snoozing in peace._

_When Shadow loaded up the last puzzle-piece._

_Then he got into the sleigh and gave poor Snax a whip_

_And they began their long and devious Christmas trip._

_Slowly he ascended the side of Mt. Jump-it._

_He rode with his load to the tiptop… to dump it!_

_They made their way all the way up to the top,_

_Where Snax was grateful he could finally stop!_

"Mission accomplished!" _Shadow was humming._

"Those fools will know now that no Christmas is coming.

They'll be waking up now and I know just what they'll do.

Sonic and his friends down in Station Square will all cry, 'boo hoo'."

"And that is a noise" _Shadow said._ "That I really must hear!"

_So he paused, & he put a hand to his ear._

_And he did hear a sound rising over the snow._

_It started out low… but started to grow._

_But this sound wasn't sad._

_Why, this sound… sounded glad!_

_Everyone down in station Square, the tall and the small,_

_Was singing… without any presents at all!_

_He hadn't stopped Christmas from coming. It came._

_Somehow or other… it came… just the same._

_Shadow stood with his air-shoes ice-cold in the snow._

_He puzzled and wondered,_ "How could it be so?

It came without gift-cards… it came without tags…

It came without packages, boxes, or bags!"

_Shadow wondered and puzzled till his puzzler was sore._

_Then Shadow thought of something… he hadn't before._

"Maybe Christmas…" _he thought._ "Doesn't come form a store.

Maybe Christmas… perhaps… means a little bit more."

_And what happened then? Well, in Station Square they say,_

_That Shadow's small heart grew three sizes that day!_

_He remembered Amy, and the immense trust that she had._

_As though she didn't think he could do anything bad!_

_Shadow felt pain, like his heart would break._

_He knew it was guilt that caused this ache._

_He knew he must repay Amy for the trust she gave him,_

_And repay her he would! By returning what he'd taken!_

_And now with the true meaning of Christmas shining thru,_

_He pulled the sleigh and Snax with the speed of ten hedgehogs… plus two!_

_With a smile in his heart he returned to Station Square_

_And found Amy and all the others waiting right there._

_He brought back the gold rings, and shovel-claws, and books,_

_He brought back the new shoes, and jewelry, and crannies and nooks._

_He brought everything back. All the food for the feast,_

_And he… he himself, Shadow, carved the roast beast!_

We hope your Christmasis never blue.

Happy Holidays… from us to you.

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There you have it! I know it wasnt the best piece of literature out there, for instance, I know that "shoes" & "fools" don't rhyme & neither do "gave him" & "taken", but it was apretty hard thing to do. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it despite its many flaws, please review & tell me what you think!

Merry Christmas!


	2. Movie parody!

I was watching the movie "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and thought, "Hey, if they made a movie of the story, why not do a new version of my story like the movie?" So here is a Sonic The Hedgehog version of the Grinch movie. I'll make it as different as possible, but bear with me if it sometimes seems like I'm just coppying the movie.

(I don't own anything)

p.s. This will be slightly AU and Shadow may be OOC sometimes.

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"_Once upon a time, in the town of Station Square, Sonic and his friends lived without care._

_During Christmas time they had the most fun. But not all of them loved it. No, there was just one…"_

Station Square was abuzz with activity, as everyone prepared for Christmas. Sonic and the others were just as busy as everyone else, buying gifts, and decorating.

But up on Mount Jumpit it was a different story.

"_Everyone down in Station Square liked Christmas a lot, but Shadow, who lived just north of Station Square, did not."_

Espio, Vector, Charmy, and Big all decided to go up the mountain. But little did they know that someone was watching them from above.

"Come on!" Vector called. "What's keeping you Charmy?"

"I'm trying to find flowers." Charmy replied.

"You dunce! It's winter! Even Big knew that!"

"Huh?" Big asked stupidly.

"Why are we up here?" Said Espio. "Can't we just go home already?"

"What?" Vector replied. "Don't tell me you're afraid of Shadow!"

"What? No!"

"Who's Shadow?" Big asked.

"Well, I'll tell ya." Said Vector. "He's a mysterious hedgehog who lives up here in a big cave. Some say he's an evil ghost who only come down to eat… CAT FLESH!"

"AAH! Save me Froggy!" Big hid his eyes.

Espio hit Vector on the head. "Cut it out!"

"Yeah, yeah, okay."

They continued climbing until they found a door in the side of the mountain.

"What the…?" Vector wondered out loud.

"It's Shadow's lair…" Big shivered."

"Might be…" Espio agreed, as he slowly walked up to the door.

He had almost reached the knob when the door popped open revealing a dark, sinister figure with red eyes. Espio and the others were so shocked that they fell back and began to role down the mountain.

The figure stood still in the door until a little black and white Chao walked up and deflated it.

"Good work Snax." Shadow said from inside the cave. "That should teach those fool not to stick their noses where they don't belong."

"Chao, chao." Said Snax.

"Those meddlers." Shadow continued. "Always coming up here and bothering me. Snax, get my cloak." Snax went to do as he was told. "It's time I did something about these fools."

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Short, and not very good. But it'll get much better. Please review, but only if you would like me to continue. No flames.


	3. Shadow visits Station Square

Hey, I'm back with an update! I was surprised at the way people responded to this. So thank you all for your great reviews!

By the way, with the exception of a couple songs, everything between "Quotation marks" and is in _italic _will be me saying all the rhymes.

(I own nothing!)

* * *

After donning a cloak and a mask, Shadow and Snax went down the mountain and into Station Square. Shadow had decided to cause some mischief, as revenge for everyone always bothering him. And also, to try and ruin their Christmas celebration.

"_Shadow hated Christmas, the whole Christmas season. Now please don't ask why, I don't quite know the reason."_

Three guys on a three-seated bike rode past Shadow and said "Merry Christmas!"

"Oh yeah," Shadow replied flatly. "Ho-ho-ho and… stuff."

Suddenly, the bike fell apart and all three of them fell to the ground. "Oh my." Said Shadow, trying to sound innocent. "Someone has vandalized that bike! You see Snax; the city is a dangerous place."

Shadow turned around to reveal the hacksaw in his hand.

"_It could be perhaps his air-shoes were too tight. It could be his quills weren't put on just right."_

As Shadow walked down the street he bumped into people to knock them down or make them drop their presents.

"_But I think that the most likely reason of all… may have been that his heart was two sizes too small."_

Meanwhile, in one of the many stores, Tails and Amy were doing some Christmas shopping.

"Okay, I think we got presents for everyone." Said Tails, as he and Amy paid for their stuff and left. "Isn't Christmas the best?"

"I guess." Amy replied flatly.

"You guess?"

"Oh, it's just that… you and the others are getting so worked up over presents and stuff. Doesn't it all seem… pointless?"

Before Tails could reply, Espio, Vector and the others ran into the street, covered with snow.

Knuckles, who was also out shopping, ran up. "What happened to you guys!" He asked.

"It was Shadow!" Vector shouted back.

At the sound of Shadow's name, several people gasped and there were even a few accidents.

"Shadow?" Everyone called.

"What do you want!" Shadow snapped. "Uh, I mean, Shadow? Oh no!

Just then, Sonic walked up. "Did someone say 'Shadow'?" He asked. He walked up to Knuckles. "Knuckles, do I have to remind you that this is Station Square's 100th Christmas celebration."

"No." Knuckles replied.

"Good. Cause this is our most important celebration ever. So don't tell me that Big and the Chaotix were up on the mountain provoking the one guy in a hundred miles of here who hates Christmas."

Espio and Vector were about to say something when Knuckles covered their mouths. "Oh no, no," Said Knuckles. "The guys were probably just up there playing with matches, defacing public property, that sort of thing."

"Oh good." Sonic replied. "Alright everyone, there's no Shadow problem here! Continue what you were doing." Suddenly, Sonic got hit by a spit-wad, though no-one saw that Shadow had launched it.

Later, at the post-office where Knuckles had a part-time job, Amy was trying to figure out what the problem with Shadow was.

"So, why is everyone afraid of Shadow?" She asked.

"What's up with everybody and Shadow?" Knuckles replied, as he placed some packages in their respective places. "Well, Shadow is a hedgehog who… well, actually I'm not sure if he really is a hedgehog. He's more like a…"

"A what?"

"Exactly Amy! He's a what who doesn't like Christmas."

"Why not?"

"Well… um, I'm not sure…"

Meanwhile, Shadow was in the back mixing up all the letters and packages. "It'll take years to sort this out." He chuckled. "This was your, now it's his. This was hers, now it's yours. And for the rest of you…" He took out some letters and threw them into the boxes. "Jury duty, jury duty, jury duty, black-mail, pink-slip, chain letter, eviction notice, jury duty…"

Back with Amy, Knuckles handed her a few letters.

"Do me a favor," He said. "And take these to the back?"

"Sure thing Knuckles." She replied.

She walked up to the door and opened it to find…

Nothing.

There was nothing there except some mail and the package sorting machine.

Amy put the letters where they needed to go and was about to leave when she heard something fall to the floor.

When she turned around she saw a mask lying at her feet. Meanwhile, Shadow and Snax, from where they were hiding in a corner of the ceiling, didn't even dare to breathe in case Amy might find them.

Amy wondered where the mask had come from, but just shrugged and headed for the door.

Shadow saw this and breathed a sigh of relief. Then Snax sneezed.

"Bless you." Said Shadow, just before realizing he'd made a mistake.

Amy looked up and saw Shadow. She was so shocked that she screamed. "AAAAHH!"

Shadow also screamed. "AAAAHH!"

"AAAAAHHH!"

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Shadow had enough of screaming and jumped down in front of Amy.

"You're Sh- Sh- Sh…" Amy stuttered.

"Sh- Sh- Sh-?" Said the black hedgehog. "SHADOW!"

Amy was so shocked that she fell backwards into the hole where packages fell out onto a conveyor belt which lead to the crushing "fragile" stamp.

"Well," Said Shadow. "That worked out nicely." He turned to the door to leave but Snax grabbed his arm. "What? Stop it Snax! Let go!" But then, Shadow heard Amy calling for help. Whether he liked it or not, he knew what he had to do.

With a growl of frustration, Shadow pulled Amy back up and set her back on her feet.

Without even asking if she was okay, Shadow grabbed his mask from her hand. "Give me that! Don't you know not to take things that don't belong to you!" He turned to Snax. "Let's go."

Shadow had almost made it to the door when Amy called, "Thanks for saving me."

Shadow came to a screeching halt. He turned to Amy with a sinister look. "Saving you? Is that what you think I was doing?" Amy nodded timidly. "Wrong-o." Shadow grabbed some wrapping paper. "I simply noticed you were improperly packaged my dear…" As quick as a flash, Shadow wrapped Amy in red paper and left.

A moment later, Knuckles walked in and saw a hedgehog shaped package.

"Knuckles!" Amy called. "Could you help me out of this?"

Confused, Knuckles took the wrapping off of Amy.

"Knuckles, it was amazing!" Said Amy.

But before she could continue Knuckles said, "Looks like you've been practicing your gift-wrapping. And you did a nice job. Just don't wrap yourself next time."

"Oh…"

"_Sweet little Amy didn't know what to do. In her head there tumbled a conflict or two. 'If Shadow was so bad, then why did he save me?' Maybe he wasn't so bad. Maybe… just maybe."_


	4. Where Are You Christmas?

Okay, here's the next chapter. I'm gonna try and get this done by Christmas, but if I don't I'll get it done by new years, okay? Thanks for the understanding.

Oh, and I know casting Sonic as the Mayor is kinda weird, but think of it. Sonic and Shadow are rivals, Sonic is the most popular among the characters, and- let's face it -Sonic can be self centered sometimes.

Sonic probably won't look too good in some parts of the story, but rest assured, I haven't made our favorite blue-blur the bad guy or anything.

Also, Rouge will pretty much play that Martha person from the movie, and there will be some hinted feelings between her and Shadow, but they will not be a couple. Sorry if any of you are Shad-Rogue shippers, but I just think that while they'd make really good friends, Shadow and Rouge just don't make a good couple.

Okay, now that that's over, enjoy the story!

(What? You expect me to say I own anything in this story? HA! Yeah right! Like that would ever happen.)

( I own nothing.)

* * *

Later, after Amy was done with her shopping, she rode home with Knuckles.

They pulled into the driveway, and got out of the car. "None of the lights are on." Knuckles commented. "I thought Tails told you back at the post-office he was heading home?"

"That's what I thought too." Amy replied.

Suddenly, Amy and Knuckles were blinded by dozens of strings of Christmas lights.

"Hi guys!" Tails shouted from the roof. "How do you like my Christmas lights?"

"Do you think you're maybe… overdoing it?" Knuckles replied.

"No, of course not! Why would you say that?"

"Maybe the fact that it looks like you've taken all the lights out of the house to do this?"

"Oh. Well it's all for the cause Knuckles."

Knuckles just shrugged and Amy went inside.

"Just why are you so obsessed with the lights?" Knuckles asked.

"Cause I want to win the Christmas light competition."

"Oh, right."

"No offense Knuckles, but that girlfriend of yours wins it every year, and I'm sick of it. But not this year! This year I'll beat that prissy bat or my name isn't-"

"Tails!" Rouge called from next door. "Hi!"

"Oh, hi Rouge!" Tails called back, trying to sound neighborly.

"Wow Tails! I've never seen so many Christmas lights!"

"Yeah, well I'm just getting into the holiday spirit."

"Me too. Just take a look at this." She uncovered a machine which looked like some kind of canon. Then to Tails surprise, Rouge aimed it at her house and shot strings of lights which landed on her house perfectly. She kept this up until she ran out of lights.

Tails jaw dropped. Somehow she had managed to put up as many lights in 5 minutes as he had in 5 hours!

"Well," Rouge said, with a hint of pride in her voice. "Goodnight Tails."

Tails couldn't even speak.

Knuckles shyly walked up to the female bat. "Hey Rouge." He said.

"Oh, hello Knuckles." She replied. "How's it going?"

"Oh, it's going great. You're lights look really cool. Um… I was wondering… maybe you'd want to go out tomorrow night?

Later, as he lit some candles to light the dark house, Knuckles heard the phone ring. "Hello?" He answered. The person on the phone muttered something. "Is my refrigerator running?" Knuckles repeated. "I guess so."

"Then you'd better go catch it!" Said Shadow, just before hanging up. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Snax just stared at his master as Shadow laughed his tail off… despite the fact that even _he_ didn't think it was that funny. "HAHAHahaha…ha… Oh, that's a good one…" He noticed Snax staring at him. "Let's go home."

They walked over to the opening to the pneumatic tube, which lead to the garbage dump up on Mt. Jump-it.

Shadow opened the lid and said to Snax, "Fleas before beauty."

Snax backed away for Shadow to go first, and the black hedgehog looked insulted.

As soon as they were both in, Shadow pushed the button and they were sucked into the long pipeline which wound its way up to the mountain.

They finally reached the end of the pipe and landed in the garbage heap high up in Mt. Jump-it.

"A car would have paid for itself by now." Shadow grumbled. He heard something else coming through the pipeline. "Oh goody, another load coming down!" Some bags fell out of the pipe opening and Shadow caught one in his arms. "Ugh! What is that stench! …It's fantastic!" He picked up another bag and stood up. "Snax, grab a bag! We'll come back for the rest. Of course, when I say 'we' I mean 'you'."

Snax carried a bag and followed Shadow as he walked toward his house. "Ya know," Shadow continued. "It's amazing what some people just throw away! Oh well. One man's toxic sludge is another hedgehog's alternate power source."

Back in Station Square, Amy sat in her room, with only a flashlight and some Christmas lights allowing her to see anything.

She walked over to the tree she had set up in her room and looked glumly at the ornaments and began to sing.

"_Where are you Christmas? Why can't I find you? Why have you gone away? My world is changing, I'm rearranging. Does that mean Christmas changes too?"_

She walked over to her desk and looked at her old stocking. _"Where are you Christmas? Do you remember the girl you used to know? You and I were so carefree. Now nothing's easy. Did Christmas change… or just… me…?" _

She looked out her window at Mt. Jump-it which loomed in the distance.


	5. A Shady Past

(hides from angry readers) Okay, okay, I know in the last chapter I promised to have this thing finished by New Years at the most... and that that was almost a year ago... but you've gotta forgive me! I was swamped with stuff, and by the time I wasn't it wasn't Christmas and I wasn't in the right frame of mind to continue this. But now I am and hopefully I still have enough readers left to read this to the finish.

Once again, please PLEASE forgive me! (uses puppy dog eyes) I even made this chapter extra long!

(I haven't gained any ownership of this since last year, so as always I own nothing.)

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Shadow entered the door to his lair and turned on a light switch.

"Well," He said. "Be it ever so shadowy, there's no place like home."

He placed the sacks of garbage he and Snax had brought home into a makeshift catapult and launched them right at a giant post of Sonic, hitting the Hedgehog's face dead center. "Oh, sweet!" Shadow cheered.

He walked down the stairs and grabbed an old robe from a coat hangar made from a pair of antlers. "Those fools are hard to frazzle Snax," He said. "But we did our worst, and that's all that matters. At least we scared the bejeables out of that Amy girl. She'll be scarred for life if we're lucky." Shadow put on the robe, but a thoughtful look passed over his face. "Hmm… funny she didn't rat on us though. Must be afraid of reprisals."

Shadow jumped onto his bed and turned to the phone he'd built himself, sitting on a nightstand. "Wonder if I have any calls…" He pressed a button.

"_You have no messages."_ The robotic voice of the answering machine said.

"Odd," Said Shadow. "I'd better check the outgoing."

He pressed another button and listened as his recorded voice came on. _"If you utter so much as one syllable I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN AND GUT YOU LIKE A FISH!!! …If you'd like to fax me, press the star key."_

Shadow shrugged and turned the machine off. "Oh well."

He got up and headed over to an x-ray machine. He moved the screen over his chest and switched it on to show his heart, two sizes too small, as it should be. "Yes! Down a size and a half!" Shadow cheered. "And this time, I'll keep it off."

He made his way to an easy chair and took off his shoes, leaning back to relax. "Ah, that's better. I tell you Snax, I don't know why I ever leave this place." Snax walked up and stared quizzically at his master. "I have all the company I need right here. Hello!"

"Hello-lo-lo!" Shadow's echo called.

"How are you?"

How are you-you-you?"

"I asked you first!"

"I asked you first-first-first!"

"Oh, that' really mature, saying exactly what I say!"

"…Saying exactly what I say-say-say!"

Shadow thought a moment. "I'm an idiot!"

"You're an idiot-idiot-idiot!"

Shadow grumbled at the odd echo. _"Al right, fine," _Shadow whispered. _"I'm not talking to you anymore. In fact, I'm going to whisper so that by the time my voice reverberates off the walls and gets back to me, I won't be able to hear it." _…

"You're an idiot-idiot-idiot!"

Shadow blinked in confusion, but shrugged it off. Why should he care?

Rolling onto his side, Shadow curled up into a ball and twiddled his thumbs.

The next day, Christmas Eve, Amy awoke with a new mission: To find out more about Shadow.

After doing some investigating, she learned that there were only two people that knew all about Shadow, and went to pay them a visit, her tape-recorder by her side.

The two people she was looking for were two old women, Edna and Abigail Smith, who were two of the only people alive now that had worked on the A.R.K before disaster had hit. She found them living in a retirement home and managed to meet with them, to ask them all they knew.

"So," She said, as she sat on a couch near the old women, with her microphone held up. "Tell me in your own words everything you know about Shadow."

"Well," Said Abigail, the taller of the two. "That was quite some time ago, but let me see if I remember…"

_-Flashback-_

"_It all began over fifty years ago…"_ Abigail narrated. _"We were both nurses, hired by Doctor Gerald Robotnik to take care of his granddaughter, Maria. Poor thing… Anyway, it was on Christmas Eve one year that there was a big excitement through the entire station."_

Doctor Gerald Robotnik, still alive and well, was beside himself with excitement. "The experiment is a success!" He called out.

He looked into a strange tank to see the being that had recently been brought to life inside it. A black hedgehog.

Shadow opened his eyes for the first time and looked around to see the Doctor looking down at him, a fatherly smile on his face.

"_It was soon after," _Said Edna. _"That the Doctor presented him to us."_

"Ladies and gentlemen," Said Gerald, as he stood before the people who had assembled, including Maria, who looked on in amazement. "At long last, our hard work has paid off. I present to you now, the ultimate life form… Shadow the Hedgehog!"

Shadow slowly stumbled into view, seeming as unsteady as a toddler just learning to walk.

Shadow looked around at the people assembled in the heavily decorated room and frowned uncertainly.

But then, he saw Maria, who smiled warmly at him. And for some reason, he smiled back.

Maria walked up to the hedgehog, holding a plate of Christmas cookies, and offered one to him. "Would you like a cookie?" She asked.

Shadow took one of the cookies in his hand and sniffed it suspiciously before taking a bite. But after just one taste, he couldn't get enough and ate every cookie there was off the Santa Claus shaped plate.

Maria giggled sweetly. "I see you like cookies as much as I do." She said. She noticed Shadow staring at the plate and held it up for him to see better. "This is Santa Claus. Can you say Santa?"

Shadow blinked a moment before mumbling "S…Sa… Santa?"

"Wonderful!" Gerald cheered. "You've gotten him to say his first word Maria! Tell me Shadow, would you like to hold the Santa plate?"

Shadow nodded with a grin, and Maria handed him the plate.

Shadow admired the plate for a moment, before he suddenly chomped down and bit its head off with a growl, causing everyone to gasp. Still smiling, Shadow turned to everyone and innocently said, "Santa go bye-bye."

"_He was a wonderful… whatever he was." _Abigail explained. _"And when the Doctor had us watch him, as well as Maria, we raised him to have as much love of Christmas as any other child."_

Shadow, a year after he had been created, now sat in a playroom, chuckling evilly as he doodled a picture of Santa's sleigh crashing.

"Shadow, what are you drawing?" Maria asked, as she walked up from behind him.

Shadow gasped and hid the paper. "Oh, nothing! Nothing at all!"

Maria just giggled and sat down next to the hedgehog. "It's Christmas Eve again. Aren't you excited?"

"Why should I be? It's just another day."

"Oh, no Shadow. It's not just any ordinary day. It's the greatest day of all, full of peace, and laughter… It's just all around wonderful."

"I guess so…" Shadow sighed and looked out through one of the many windows at the stars.

"And you know…" Maria continued. "It's also the perfect day of the year to give those you love a gift to show how you care." Shadow turned to look at her again, finally interested. "Every year, I make special gifts for those I love, as a way to show them I care. And because I made them, I'm able to put my heart into every gift, to make them even more special."

"And… when they get these gifts people know you care about them?" Shadow asked.

Maria nodded. "That's right. That's the best part of Christmas, when you can give someone something special, to show you care."

Shadow began to think about that. If the present was the best part of Christmas, and Maria loved it so much, then he knew he had to do something for her.

So, later that day, Shadow began raiding the entire station for anything he could find. Bits of metal, extra screws, scrap fabric, and even some… uh, _borrowed _jewelry, and began to craft them into the form of an angel.

"This will be perfect!" Shadow said with a smile. "It'll be the best present ever!"

Shadow, now finished building his gift, wrapped it in paper as best as he could, and was on his way to hide it, when he overheard some of the scientists talking.

"Can you believe the way that little fuzz ball just walks around, like he's a normal person?" One of them asked.

"I know, he thinks he's one of us. Heh, he has no idea how much of a freak he is. And the way he always hangs out with Doctor Gerald's granddaughter."

"I know, it's a good thing she doesn't have any allergies, or that walking rug would make her even sicker."

Shadow, having never before realized how different he was, quickly made his way to a bathroom to look in the mirror, and looked at his fur. He thought to himself, _Could my fur really make Maria sick?_

His head drooped sadly. But then he noticed someone's electric shaver still on the sink. The humans had used it to remove hair from their faces… so maybe…

The next day, everyone had gathered for the annual Christmas party, including Maria and Gerald.

"So then," Said Gerald. "Has everyone given out their presents?"

Everyone muttered "yes" but then heard Shadow say "I haven't!"

They all turned to see Shadow walk in, with a paper bag over his head. He held up his gift and said "Merry Christmas Maria!"

"Why on Earth is there a bag on your head?" Gerald asked.

"Maybe he's embarrassed by that gift." Someone in the crowd muttered before they were shushed.

"Please take the bag of your head Shadow." Gerald continued. Shadow hesitated a moment. "Shadow, please take it off."

Finally, Shadow slowly removed the bag to reveal his face covered with nicks and cuts, and the fur around his face had been shaven in an odd way.

Everyone in the crowd except for Maria and Gerald began to laugh.

Shadow, feeling humiliated, growled menacingly and threw down Maria's gift. "Stupid present!" He roared. "Stupid tree!" He grabbed a nearby Christmas tree and flung it across the room, causing everyone to yell in fear. "I hate Christmas!!!"

Shadow's fit of rage caused a panic, and everyone began to run and cry out if near. Shadow meanwhile, ran off, pausing only a moment to look back at Maria, sadly.

Maria watched him go, and sadly looked down to see the shattered remains of the angel he'd made for her. Leaning down, she picked up the pieces, as tears fell from her eyes.

"_And that was the last Christmas we had on the A.R.K." _Said Abigail. _"And it was the last Christmas Maria ever celebrated… the very last one…"_

_-End flashback-_

Amy, after hearing all of that, had tears in her eyes as well. Poor Shadow had suffered so much… no wonder he hated Christmas so much.

As she walked home, she could just imagine how lonely and full of regret he must have been, after spending so many years alone.

Meanwhile, up on Mt. Jump-it, Shadow glared down at Station Square, his face full of hatred.

"_So, whatever the reason, his heart or air-shoes, Shadow stood there on Christmas Eve… Hating 'those fools.'"_

"Alphabetically." Shadow said, as he opened up a phone book and looked at the first name listed. "Aaron Aardvark," He said. "I… **HATE YOU!.!.!**" Calming himself, he moved on to the next name. "Arnold B. Benson, I hate _you_. hate, hate, hate, double hate… _Loath entirely!_" Suddenly, Shadow stopped and looked down at the town, as music began to make it's way up the mountain. "Nutcrackers! It's their celebration!"

"_He Snarled with a sneer."_

"Tomorrow is Christmas… it's practically here!" Shadow threw down his phone book and ran inside, shouting "Snax! Fetch me my sedative!"

Inside, Snax handed Shadow his sedative, which turned out to be a giant mallet. "Now to deal with those pesky memories…" He said, just before hitting himself in the head and knocking himself out.


	6. CheerMeister

Hey everyone! Here's another update!

I just wanna say, there will be a couple moments that will make a couple characters look kinda bad... but I promise, I have nothing at all against them! In fact, I love them as much as Shadow. It's just the roles they are playing, that's all. It's a parody for crying out loud!

Anyhow, enjoy!

(I still own nothing.)

Down in Station Square, a big celebration began, as everyone began to assemble before City Hall. Countless people had now come together, dressed in their finest Christmas outfits, including Sonic and the gang.

Sonic led the group down the street, wearing his usual grin. "Come on guys," He said. "Let's hurry up and get to City Hall! The mayor asked yours-truly to make the opening speech, and I don't wanna be late."

"We know already," Knuckles snapped back. "You've been bragging all day!"

"What's your beef, Knux?" Sonic asked.

"He's just nervous." Vector replied with a grin. "He can't wait for his date with a certain bat tonight."

"WILL YOU SHUT UP!" Knuckles shouted, turning redder than usual.

Meanwhile Amy lagged behind the others, deep in thought. She had spent the past hour thinking about Shadow, and had come up with a possible solution… even if it was a bit drastic.

"Hey, where'd Tails go?" Cream asked, when she noticed the two tailed fox wasn't with them.

"Hey guys!" Tails called, as he quickly flew up to them, holding what looked like a traffic light. "I found the perfect light for the Christmas display at home!" Not too far away there was the sound of a crash, and Tails flinched. "Uh… come on, we don't wanna be late!" He flew off as quickly as he could, and Sonic just shook his head.

Once everyone had arrived at City Hall, the Mayor introduced Sonic and the blue blur stepped up to a podium to face the crowd.

"Hey everyone!" He called cheerfully. "Looks like its that time of year again, and the moment has come when Station Square chooses the Holiday Cheer-Meister of the Year!" The crowd applauded loudly. "So, do we have a nomination?"

"I nominate Shadow!" All eyes in the crowd instantly turned to look at Amy, who stood near the stage with a determined look on her face.

"Shadow?" Sonic asked. "That grump? Amy, what made you want to nominate that guy?"

"Because Sonic," Amy replied. "Shadow's a person too, and I think he deserves to be part of our celebration as much as anyone else."

"But Amy, Mr. Shadow hates Christmas." Said Cream.

"Yeah, he can't be the Cheer-Meister." Charmy added.

"But don't you all see?" Amy asked. "That's just it. Shadow needs to be showed what Christmas truly is, and that he has some friends to celebrate with. So I nominate Shadow to be Holiday Cheer-Meister, and if you're all the people I think you are, you will too."

Everyone in the crowd hesitated a moment, thinking it over, before they all agreed.

Even Sonic smiled at Amy's words and gave a nod. "Alright Amy," He said. "Looks like Shadow's been nominated. But you know, he probably won't come down anyway, so we're gonna have to have a runner-up."

"How about you, Sonic?" Tails called.

The rest of the group agreed, and Sonic humbly smiled. "Well, if you guys insist. I accept. But only if Shadow doesn't show up. Alright everyone, it's time to par-tay!"

Everyone cheered again, as a nearby band began to play Christmas songs. The crowd seemed lost in their celebrations, but Amy didn't join them. Instead, she turned her attention to the tall mountain in the distance.

And in his lair in that Mountain, Shadow was laying asleep on his bed, still unconscious from his "sedative" as the music from Station Square began to make its way into his home.

As his half-asleep ears heard the music, he involuntarily began to sing along, but finally screamed and sat up with a start.

He then held his pillow over his ears and growled. "Blast this Christmas music!" He fumed. "…It's joyful _and _triumphant."

Shadow jumped from his bed and ran to a shelf full of old blenders and filled them each with nuts and bolts and turned them on full blast, in an attempt to create enough noise to silence the Christmas songs. But even though the blenders made a terrible racket, the music still came through.

He rushed and turned on any noisy appliance or machine he could find, but just couldn't drown out the songs.

He even resorted to activating a giant version of one of those monkeys with the cymbals. (don't ask where he got it, though.)

"Play monkey!" Shadow shouted crazily. "Play!!!"

Meanwhile, outside, Amy was climbing up the mountain to find Shadow's home. She knew he wouldn't come down on his own, so she just had to invite him herself.

Back inside, Shadow had even gone as far as to turn on a jackhammer, and rode it like a pogo-stick.

Outside, Amy had finally found the door to Shadow's lair and was about to knock when she heard a crash, followed by Shadow shouting "OWWEE!!!"

"Shadow?" She called, knocking on the door. She got no reply, so she tried the door and, upon finding it unlocked, went in.

She looked around the enormous cave and finally saw Shadow with his head between the monkey's cymbals, and yelping each time they would crash.

Amy cautiously walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Um… excuse me?"

Shadow suddenly stood up straight and when the cymbals crashed together he stopped them with his hands, causing the monkey to short-circuit. Everything went quiet again as Shadow slowly turned to glare at Amy.

"Hello… little girl." He said. He pointed at her angrily and shouted "How dare you enter Shadow's lair?.! The impudence! The audacity! The unmitigated gall!" Amy blinked in confusion at his outburst as he continued. "You called down the thunder, now get ready for the **BOOM!** Gaze into the face of fear." He pointed at his own face. "Booga-booga!"

Amy, ignoring Shadow's attempts to be scary, calmly smiled at him. "Hi Shadow." She said.

"You see?" Shadow continued, as he began to walk around Amy. "Even now the terror is welling up inside you."

"I'm not scared." Amy retorted, when Shadow was behind her.

"Denial is to be expected in the face of pure evil…" Shadow then began growling and making funny faces.

Amy was still completely calm. "I don't think so."

Shadow blinked in confusion. "Doubt?" He finally shouted, turning to walk a few feet away from Amy. "Another unmistakable sign of the heebie-jeebies! Now you're _DoooooomeD_!" The black hedgehog hopped away and returned wearing a t-shirt, which he began to tear it off as he howled. "Run for your life, before I kill again!" He shouted, in an over dramatic way. "Awooo!" Shadow noticed that Amy was still unimpressed. "Uh… I'm a psycho!" He started jumping around, giggling maniacally. Finding that unsuccessful, Shadow simply started barking and snapping at her until finally he gave up, completely out of breath.

Amy gave him an odd look. "Um… maybe you need a timeout." She said, and then giggled at him.

Shadow sighed and crossed his arms. "Kids today…" He said. "So desensitized by movies, television, video games… and poorly written fan-fiction." He turned to glare at Amy and shouted "**What do you want?.!**"

Amy flinched a bit, but smiled at him again. "Shadow," She said. "I've come to invite you to be Holiday Cheer-Meister!" She handed him a card.

"Holiday What?" Shadow asked.

"Cheer-Meister."

Shadow looked at the card and read it. "'Holiday Cheer-Meister, celebrate with friends.' HA! Hahahahaha! That's a good one!" Shadow walked away, and Amy followed.

"Shadow, I know you hate Christmas!" She called. "But what if it's just a misunderstanding?"

"Don't care." Shadow replied, not even caring to stop or turn to look at her.

"I mean, I myself am having some yuletide doubts!"

Shadow pretended to snore.

"But maybe if you can reunite with everyone, and be a part of Christmas…"

Shadow mocked her. "_Maybe if you can reunite with everyone, and be a part of Christmas-_ **Grow up!**"

"…Then maybe it'll be okay for me too!"

"I'm sorry, your session is over; please make another appointment with the receptionist on the way out."

"Please Shadow, you have to accept the award!"

Shadow suddenly stopped in his tracks. "…Award?" He asked. Suddenly, he rushed back and took Amy by the shoulders. "You never mentioned… an award."

"Yeah, with a trophy and everything!" Amy replied.

"And I won?"

"You won!"

Shadow got a thoughtful look on his face as he let go of Amy's shoulders. "That means there were losers…"

"I guess. But if you could just-"

"A town full of losers! I like it!" He turned to Amy again. "Was anyone… emotionally shattered? Come on, a minute ago I couldn't shut you up! Details, details!"

"Well… Sonic wasn't exactly thrilled."

Shadow got a mock frown on his face as he pretended to sound sad. "Oh no."

Amy then got a sly look on her face. "And… Rouge will be there."

Shadow's face perked up. It was no secret he and Rouge had had… feelings for each other at one point, though she now dated Knuckles. "Oh, she will?" He asked. "And she'll see me… a winner." Amy nodded. "Hmm, she'll be on me like flies on a horse. But I'm sorry to disappoint ya Rouge, but the Shade train has left the station!"

"So, will you come?" Amy asked.

Shadow thought about it a moment. "Oh, alright." He replied. Amy smiled as he put his hand on her shoulder and led her to the door. "I don't know if it's that adorable twinkle in your eye or that nonconformist streak that reminds me of a pink female version of me, but you've convinced me." He led her right up to the door, stopping her when she was on the welcome mat, and walked away. "Who knows? This celebration may change my entire outlook on life!"

"Really?" Amy asked hopefully.

"No." Shadow reached for a rope and pulled it, opening a trapdoor under Amy that led to a slide that would take her back to town.

Shadow grinned, pleased with himself, until he saw Snax holding the invitation that Amy had dropped.

"Hmm…" He growled.

Meanwhile, Amy had reached the end of the pipe and shot out and landed in the snow.

"What a ride." She muttered, as she shook the snow off.

Just then, Cream saw Amy and ran to her. "There you are Amy!" She said with a smile, as she took her friend's hand. "Come on, or we'll be late."

Amy let the bunny lead her away to the celebration, hoping Shadow really would show up.

Back in his lair, Shadow jumped into his chair and looked at the invitation with a look of disgust.

"The nerve of those fools." He said. "Inviting me down there… on such short notice! Even if I wanted to go, my schedule would never allow it!" Shadow turned to a nearby table and opened the schedule book resting on it. "Let's see, 4:00, Wallow in self pity. 4:30, stare into the abyss… 5:00, solve world hunger -- tell no one. 6:00, dinner with me. I can't cancel that again! 6:30, wrestle with my self loathing… I'm booked!" Shadow then got a thought. "Hmm, of course if I bumped the loathing to 9:00 I could still be home in time to lay in bed, stare at the ceiling and slip slowly into madness… But what would I wear?.!"

Shadow thought a moment, then walked over to his table which was stacked with all kinds of dishes and pans. Grabbing hold of the table cloth, he gave a yank and it came off without disturbing any of the items on it. He walked away, but quickly ran back to knock everything off the table anyway.

A little later, he walked out and looked in the mirror, as the table cloth was tied around his waist like a skirt.

"Chao, chao?" Snax asked confusedly.

"It's not a dress, it's a kilt!" Shadow replied testily. He tore the table cloth off to reveal a garter on his leg. "Sicko!"

Later still, Shadow was tossing articles of clothing out of his closet, grumbling "Stupid! Ugly! Out of date!" Finally, he left his closet and frowned. "This is ridiculous! If I can't find something nice to wear, I'm not going!"

It was then that Shadow heard the sound of a yodeler nearby. He thought for a moment and an evil smile formed on his face.

Up on the mountain, a random, nameless yodeler yodeled on without a care, unaware of the hook that came from behind until it had grabbed him and pulled him away.

Shadow, after -ahem- "borrowing" the man's lederhosen, put them on and posed in front of the mirror, seeming pleased with the look. "Hmm… That's it I'm not going!"

Back in town, everyone was still gathered together, but now all the Christmas lights were on an the Holiday mood was set, as the celebration truly began.

"And now," Said Sonic, as he once again stood at the podium. "It's time to give the Holiday Cheer-Meister of the year award!" Everyone cheered. "Congratulations to: Shadow the Hedgehog!" There was a pause, as everyone looked around, but couldn't find the ultimate life form. "Huh, I guess he didn't show up." Sonic continued. "Not much of a surprise, I guess."

Amy looked around again, but she didn't see him either. She sighed dismally.

Back in Shadow's lair, he stood with his arms crossed and thought long and hard. "All right!" He said finally. "I'll swing by for a minute, allow them to envy me, grab a handful of popcorn shrimp and blow out of there!" Shadow was about to walk to the door when he stopped and turned again. "But what if it's a cruel prank? What if it's a cash-bar? How dare they!" Shadow thought again. "Alright, I'll go. But I'll be fashionably late. No! Yes! No! Yes! …No, yes! Grr! Definitely not! Alright, I've made my decision!" Shadow walked over to the door and turned to Snax, who floated nearby. "I'm going! And that's that!" Shadow held up his hand and looked at his fingers. "Oh! I had my fingers crossed." Suddenly, Shadow fell through the trap door, which Snax had activated out of impatience.

"Maybe I should flip a coin…!" Shadow shouted as he fell down the pipeline.

In town, Sonic continued his speech. "Well gang, it looks like the award has to go to the runner-up."

Tails jumped up to the podium. "That's right!" He said with a smile. "A hedgehog to whom Christmas doesn't come just once a year, but every minute of every day. A heroic, big hearted hedgehog… a hedgehog who's even had his tonsils removed twice!"

Amy was surprised to find herself gag. Somehow, Sonic was appearing less and less appealing to her lately.

"That's actually a funny story." Sonic said with a chuckle. "See, what happened was…"

Suddenly, there was a strange noise, and Shadow popped out of the pneumatic tube from Mt. Jump-it and flew through the air yelling loudly. He hit a drum and ricocheted into a banner, which launched him like a slingshot right towards Rouge.

The two collided and fell to the ground, where Shadow was embarrassed to find his face had landed right on her chest. Needless to say, Rouge turned bright red and Knuckles wasn't happy.

"Hello Rouge…" Shadow said in a muffled voice.

Amy, ignoring his precarious position, cheered "He made it!"

Shadow quickly got up, and turned to glare at the crowd, most of which stared back in fright.

"I believe…" He said, in a menacingly slow voice. "…That I'm here to accept… an award of some kind? And, the girl… mentioned a check?"

"No I didn't!" Amy called, completely unafraid of Shadow.

Shadow's face fell and he dropped his scary act. "Oh, alright then give me the award! **Come on, while I'm young!**"

"Hey, don't worry Buddy!" Sonic said with a smile, putting an arm around Shadow's shoulders like they were old pals. "You'll get your award, but first, we have a little family reunion!" Ignoring Shadow's confused look, Sonic continued. "They nursed you… they clothed you, and here they are. Your old biddies!"

Everyone turned to look, as Edna and Abigail appeared from the crowd, smiling warmly at Shadow.

Shadow meanwhile glared at the two and his eye began to twitch. "Are you two still _living_?" He asked, his voice full of disappointment.

The old ladies walked up to him, and hugged him. Each smothering him with love and affection… literally. Saying "We missed you!" and "It's so good to see you!" all the while Shadow just stood there, too humiliated to even move.

"Oh, Edna," Abigail said. "Get the sweater!"

"Sweater? What sweater?" Shadow asked nervously, as Edna, Abigail and a small army of old women surrounded him. Suddenly, they all descended on him like a plague. "Hey, wait a minute!" he shouted. "Stop it! Don't touch me there! Ah! You're hands are freezing! Watch it! Get… OFF!!" the old women finally backed off, to reveal Shadow wearing a bright red, white and green Christmas sweater that said "I Love Christmas" but with a heart representing the word "love," and the entire thing was covered with blinking lights. Shadow gasped at the sight, but everyone else just laughed.

Seeing Shadow in this light, the people began to feel more at ease, and one spectator even called out "Put him in the chair of Cheer!"

Everyone applauded happily, but Shadow just looked worried. "Chair of Cheer?" He asked, his eyes as wide as saucers. He spotted Amy in the crowd and called to her "You didn't tell me about the Chair of Cheer!"

"Please Shadow, please?" Amy pleaded, as the crowd carried in a large, overly decorated throne.

"No, I really can't." Shadow said, sensing what was coming. "It's too much, too soon. Aah!" The people grabbed Shadow and threw him into the chair and began carrying him around. "Put me down!" Shadow screamed, though no one heard him over all the cheering. "I mean it! I'll get a lawer! There'll be _hell_ to pay!!!"

As the night progressed, Shadow was put through even more tortures. First, he acted as judge in a pudding cooking contest, where the competitors began shoveling spoonful after spoonful of pudding… or pudding-like substances… into his mouth.

Next was the "Christmas Conga" in which he was forced to lead a long conga line. By this time he began getting a serious headache…

Next was the Fruitcake cooking competition, where people started shoving pieces of fruitcake into his mouth, much to his despair.

And then came the fudge competition. By this time Shadow just resigned himself to his fate and swallowed down as much fudge as he could.

Then was the sack race, in which he competed against a few of the town's children. But oddly enough…

He enjoyed himself.

Shadow, possibly because of his fond memories of playing with Maria, actually had fun racing these children. Of course, he won, and everyone cheered him on.

Shadow smiled- yes, smiled at receiving all the kind cheering. To everyone's surprise, even his own, he was no beginning to enjoy himself. And everyone, especially him and Amy, had a better time for that.

Finally, the festivities were almost over, and Shadow stood next to Sonic at the podium.

"And now," Said Sonic. "It's time for that moment we've all been waiting for!"

"Ah yes," Shadow said with a grin. "My award! …And the check?"

"There's no check." Sonic replied.

"Are you sure?" Shadow asked, giving Rouge a grin. "Cause I'm pretty sure I heard something about a check."

"Trust me," Said Sonic. "There is no check. And anyway, it's time for the annual gift giving ceremony! And as always, we start with our Cheer-Meister."

Sonic handed Shadow a box wrapped in red and green paper. Shadow gladly took the box and quickly unwrapped it and opened it.

But then he saw what was inside… an electric shaver.

"Wow, great gift, huh Shade?" Sonic asked, not realizing just how wrong he was. "And just in time too, you could use a shave Buddy."

Sonic began to laugh, as did the crowd. Only Amy noticed how Shadow began to frown, as all the memories came back to him.

"And now, I have a gift to give a special someone." Sonic continued. "Amy Rose Hedgehog, I've been saving up for a couple months to get you this, so I hope you like it…" Everyone turned when they heard a car horn honk and saw a small pink car being driven up.

Amy gasped when she saw it, and almost feinted. "You've been chasing after me so long," Sonic explained. "I thought maybe you'd like to do it in style."

"Sonic…" Amy gasped. She had only been able to dream about something like this.

"Do you like it?"

Amy was about to reply, but when she turned to look at Sonic, she saw Shadow's face. He seemed… hurt. Like he knew she knew what he was feeling, but then she went and got all google-eyed over the car Sonic had given her. "I…"

"Well…?" Sonic asked.

Amy sighed and turned to Sonic. "This gift is amazing…" She said. Before she could continue, there was a terrible screeching sound, and everyone turned to see Shadow scratching a line all the way across the pink car, a frown on his face. "Of course it is…" He hissed. "I mean, that's what it's all about, isn't it? That's what it's always been about! Gifts, gifts… Gifts! Gifts! Gifts!" The crowd backed away from him in fear. "You wanna know what happens to your gifts? They all come to me, in your garbage. You see what I'm saying? In… your… **Garbage! **I could hang myself with all the bad Christmas neckties I've found at the dump!"

Shadow paused as he turned to glare at a very confused Sonic. "And the avarice… the avarice never ends! 'I want golf clubs, I want diamonds, I want a pony so I can ride it twice, get bored and sell it to make Glue!!! Look, I don't wanna make waves here, but this whole Christmas season is… **Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!!!**" Shadow calmed down and moved over to some decorations. "There is however… one teeny, tiny Christmas tradition… I find quite meaningful…" He grabbed something and held it over his head. "…Mistletoe! So pucker up and kiss it Station Square!" He turned around and held the mistletoe over his butt, then turned and jumped into the crowd with a growl, causing the people to run away in fear.

Suddenly, Shadow popped up in front of Sonic with the electric shaver and shaved the fur from the top of the dazed, blue blur's head. "Wow Faker," Shadow said with a laugh. "That's a good look for you!"

Shadow then ran to the giant Christmas tree and somehow managed to find a large flamethrower. He aimed the weapon and fired, causing the tree to be reduced to ashes in a matter of seconds.

"Come on Tails!" Said Sonic. "We have to do something!"

"Right!" Tails replied. But just as Sonic was about to go after Shadow he heard the electric shaver and turned to see Tails shaving the top of his head to match Sonic.

Sonic sighed and shook his head. Tails could take his hero worship a tad too far sometimes.

Sonic was about to go after Shadow again, but found that the black hedgehog was nowhere to be seen.

As everyone calmed down, Sonic and the others began to look over all the damage a chaos wrought by the ultimate life-form and frowned sadly.

"Oh man…" Knuckles gasped. "I knew inviting Shadow here was a bad idea!"

"Yeah…" Sonic agreed. "I guess Shadow's just never gonna change." The blue hedgehog turned to Amy, who was looking around worriedly for Shadow. "Sorry this didn't go the way you wanted Amy. But don't feel too bad, you couldn't have guessed Shadow would have freaked out so bad."

Amy turned and glared at Sonic, a sight no one had ever expected to see. "Shadow?!" She shouted. "He was doing just fine till you gave him that stupid gift! He would have enjoyed himself, and maybe he would have had a nice Christmas for once, but then you ruined it!" Amy, with tears in her eyes, ran off. Leaving Sonic and the others very confused.

Meanwhile, Shadow snuck over to the pneumatic tube, chuckling to himself. "Heehee, I quite enjoyed that." He said, as he opened the tube and got in. "I hope I get another invite soon. Hahaha!" Shadow stopped laughing though when he saw Sonic and the others carrying a new giant tree over to replace the other one.

"Good thing we had a spare!" Said Tails.

Shadow's eye began to twitch. "Oh for the love of… THEY'RE RELENTLESS!!!" Shadow punched the button on the pneumatic tube and was sucked in and sent straight to Mt. Jump-it.

Once there, Shadow began pacing outside his door, an angry expression on his face.

"_Tomorrow, Shadow knew, all the young girls and boys would wake bright and early. They'd rush for their toys…"_

"And then…" Shadow grumbled. "Oh, the noise! Oh the noise, noise, noise, **noise !!!**"

"_Then the fools young and_ _old would sit down to a feast. And they'll feast, and they'll feast…"_

"And they'll feast, feast, feast!" Shadow shouted, as he jumped up and down angrily. "They'll eat their chocolate pudding! And their fresh hot roast beast! Which is something I cannot stand in the least." Shadow gasped and his eyes went wide. "Oh no… I'm speaking in rhyme! Aah!" Shadow fell to his knees. "Blast you fools!"

Shadow fell down in the snow and pounded his fist into the ground in frustration.

"_And the more Shadow thought… of this Christmas-ing… the more he thought…"_

"I must stop this whole thing!" He hopped back to his feet. "Why, for year after year I've put up with it now! I must stop Christmas from coming… but _how_?" Shadow stopped again. "Um… I mean… in what way? Ugh…"

Shadow walked to his door and walked inside, but gasped when he saw Christmas lights hung up and heard Christmas music playing loudly. He turned to see Snax dancing along happily to the music.

Shadow smiled evilly at the little Chao. "Are you having a holly… jolly… Christmas…?" He asked. Suddenly, Shadow threw the door open and tossed all the decorations and even Snax into the snow. "WRONG-O!!!"

Shadow walked calmly outside and found the whole where Snax had sunken into the snow and pulled the Chao out. "Look Snax." He said. "If you're not going to help me, then you might as well…" He stopped when he noticed the snow stuck to Snax's chin… and realized it resembled a white beard.

"_Then Shadow got an idea. An awful idea…" _An evil grin grew on Shadow's face, as he was struck with inspiration. _Shadow got a wonderful… awful idea."_

"I know just what to do…" Shadow said to himself, and quickly ran into his house to carry out his dastardly plan.


	7. You're a Mean One, Mr Shadow

(I still own nothing.)

---

Shadow, a plan now forming in his head, went into his lair and found an old red curtain and immediately cut some of the material out, leaving a hole the shape of a coat in it.

Then Shadow began to sew the material together. _"Shadow laughed in his throat, and he made a quick Sandy Claus hat and coat."_

Shadow finished sewing the hat and coat, even adding fur, and put it on. He walked up to the mirror and smiled when he saw his reflection.

"_He chuckled and clucked at this great Shady trick…"_

"With this coat and this hat," He said. "I'll look just like St. Nick!" Shadow laughed to himself again. "It's the perfect plan! I'll steal their presents and decorations, and I'll never have to deal with Christmas again! But to do that, I'll need something to carry it all in. Something… like a sleigh."

So Shadow quickly went through his lair and collected all the parts he could and began to put them together to build a large vehicle.

Meanwhile, down in Station Square, everyone was settling in for the night, anxious for Christmas morning to arrive.

Amy, however, was still awake, and looking sadly out her window. She felt so confused about everything that had happened that night, not just about how she, Amy Rose Hedgehog, had snapped at her hero, but about why she was so worried about Shadow.

She looked up at Mt. Jump-it and sighed. "I hope you get everything you want for Christmas Shadow…"

Later, back up on the mountain, Shadow and Snax stood outside looking down at the town. Shadow looked through a pair of binoculars and watched as a certain man in a red suit went from house to house delivering gifts.

"Fat boy should be finishing up anytime now." Shadow grumbled. "Talk about a recluse. He only comes out once a year, and he never catches any flack for it! …Probably lives up there to avoid the taxes."

Shadow watched as Santa got into his sleigh and whistled to his reindeer. The eight reindeer took off and flew away, and that's when a thought occurred to the ultimate life-form.

"oopsy…" He said, putting down his binoculars. "I forgot about the reindeer."

"_Did that stop Shadow? No…" _Shadow thought a moment, and an evil grin formed on his face as he turned to look at Snax. _"Shadow simply said…"_

"If I can't find a reindeer… I'll make one instead." Shadow was about to grab Snax, but the Chao flew away back to the lair. "Grr… _Oh Sna-a-a-a-a_**-a-a-A-A-X!!!**"

Snax ran to his Chao-bed pulled the covers over himself, but Shadow found him and picked him up, then pulled a deer antler down from the wall where it had been serving for a coat hanger.

"_So he took his Chao Snax, and he took some black thread, and he tied a big antler on top of his head."_

Shadow also put a fake red nose on Snax's face and smiled when he looked at his work. Then he put on a director's hat.

"Al right," He said to Snax. "Your name is Rudolf. You're a freak with a red nose and nobody likes you. Then one day Santa picks you, and you save Christmas!" Snax just stared at the hedgehog. "Wait, on second thought forget all that. Here's what we'll do: You hate Christmas and you're gonna steal it! Saving Christmas is a stupid ending." Shadow walked over to a director's chair and sat down. Picking up a bullhorn he shouted into it "Action!"

Snax just stared at Shadow a moment before taking off his fake nose and throwing it to the ground.

"BRILLIANT!" Shadow shouted, jumping out of his chair. "You reject your own nose because it represents the glitter of commercialism! Why didn't I think of that?! Cut, print, check the gate, moving on!"

Later, Shadow and Snax were sitting in Shadow's home-made sleigh, and Shadow began to activate it's jet engines. The vehicle began to shake. "Tha-a-a-at… fe-e-els… go-o-o-o-d." He said, as his voice shook with the sleigh.

Shadow pressed a few more buttons, then turned to Snax. "Here goes nothing Snax." He said, as he flipped a switch. The sleigh began to rise from the ground and float in the air, and Shadow laughed to see his invention work. "Ha! On Crasher, on Thrasher, on Vomit and Blitz-kreig!"

The entire sleigh lurched forward as the jet engines kicked on, and Shadow screamed in fear as the vehicle flew out of control down the mountain. "AAAH!!! WE'RE GONNA DIE!!! WE'RE GONNA DIE!!! I'm gonna throw up! AND THEN I'M GONNA DIE!!! Mommy, tell it to stop!!!" Finally, the sleigh began to fly right, and at a smoother angle, and Shadow began chuckling nervously. "Phew…" He smiled smugly. "Ha! Almost lost my cool there." Snax just rolled his eyes.

Shadow piloted the sleigh into Station Square and landed on a rooftop.

In their house nearby, the Chaotix heard the thump the Sleigh made and woke up.

"What was that?" Espio asked, a shuriken ready.

"I dunno." Vector replied groggily.

"It's Santa!" Charmy whispered excitedly. "go back to sleep, quick!"

Vector and Espio nodded their agreement and immediately fell back asleep.

Shadow took a bag from the back of his sleigh and turned to Snax. "Come on Snax, it's our first stop…"

"…_Shadow Claus hissed, as he jumped to the roof, empty bags in his fist. He crept up to the Chimney, a tight place to go, but if Santa could do it then so could Shadow."_

Shadow tied a rope around his ankle and got up to the chimney, then jumped in like an Olympic diver. When entered the chimney though, he became stuck. "Ouch!"

"_He got stuck only once, for a moment or two…"_

"Stupid water weight!" He grumbled. "It goes right to my hips!"

Shadow wiggled a bit and finally freed himself, then fell straight to the bottom of the chimney.

"…_Then he stuck his head out of the fireplace-flu where a little pink stocking was hung all alone…"_

Shadow looked at the stocking, as he hung upside down in the fireplace. "This stocking…" He said. "Is the first thing to go."

Shadow got out of the fireplace and took the stocking down and placed it in his bag. Then he moved on to the rest of the Christmas-related items in the room, bagging them all up to take back up to his sleigh.

"_Then Shadow continued, each movement was swift. He went 'round the whole room and took every gift."_

Once Shadow was done with that room, he moved on to the kitchen. The fridge in particular. He took all the food for Christmas, and bagged it all up.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Amy Rose was sound asleep until she heard a noise downstairs and woke up.

Back downstairs, Shadow continued working at his goal. He took his full bag of stuff and took it up the chimney, then returned.

"_Shadow stuffed the food and gifts up the chimney with glee…"_

"And now…" He said. "I will stuff up the tree!"

Shadow went to the tree and picked it up, taking it to the chimney. _"Shadow grabbed the tree, and he started to shove, when he heard a small sound like the coo of a dove."_

"Santa Claus…?" Shadow stopped suddenly, as Amy came downstairs. Luckily, she hadn't seen him yet, and he hid behind the tree. "What are you doing with the tree Santa?" Amy asked.

Shadow thought for sure he was caught. _"But you know, Shadow the Hedgehog was so smart and so slick, he thought up a lie and he thought it up quick."_

Shadow, still behind the tree, began speaking in a deep voice. "Why my dear young hedgehog…"

"_The fake Santa Claus lied…"_

"There's a light on this tree that won't light on one side." Shadow broke a light, just to be safe. "So I'm taking it home to my workshop my dear. I'll fix it up there, and I'll bring it back here!"

Amy smiled, thinking it really was Santa. "Santa…" She said. "What's Christmas really about?"

Shadow, forgetting himself, shouted "vengeance!" Amy gasped, and he mumbled "Uh… I mean… Um… Presents… I suppose."

Amy frowned and lowered her head sadly. "Oh… that's what I was afraid of…"

Amy decided to go back to bed and turned to walk up the stairs.

"Santa?" She asked, before going up to bed.

"What?" Shadow asked back.

"I just wanted to say… don't forget Shadow, okay? I know he may be mean, and he always acts so coldly…" Shadow blinked, not sure if he should be offended or not. "His hands may be cold and clammy…" Shadow looked at his hands. How could she know that when they both wore gloves? "But… I think he's kinda… sweet."

"Sweet?!" Shadow asked. He paused a moment, and smiled a little. "You… think he's sweet?"

Amy nodded with a smile. "Yeah, I do. Merry Christmas Santa." Amy turned and went up to her room.

"_And when Amy Rose was no longer up…"_

Shadow sighed to himself. "She's such a sweet girl…" He said. But then he grinned. "But she's a _baaad _judge of character."

"…_He went to the chimney and stuffed the tree up!" _Shadow shoved the tree up the chimney and headed back to the roof.

After Amy's house, Shadow moved on to the rest of the houses in Station Square. He even used Chaos Control more than once, for houses with lots of Christmas presents and decorations, until finally he had gathered the entire town's Christmas items onto the sleigh. He even short-circuited the lights on the giant tree in the middle of Station Square, ensuring no lights would be on.

Just before dawn, Shadow finally finished loading his sleigh and turned on the engines.

"At last, Christmas has come to an end!" He said with a cheer. But then, just as the sleigh got off the ground, the engines shut off and the vehicle fell to the ground with a crash.

Shadow, after making sure the load didn't fall over, checked the fuel meter. It had gone from "full" to "going" to "going" down to "gone."

"Chao-chao." Snax chuckled.

Shadow glared at the Chao. "What are _you_ laughing at…?" He asked, then gave Snax a funny look. "…Rudolph?"

Later, after Shadow had hooked poor Snax to a harness at the front of the sleigh, the poor little Chao somehow managed to pull the large load of gifts and decorations all the way up the mountain.

Finally, they reached the top, and Snax fell down, exhausted.

Shadow, however, jumped from the Sleigh, grinning from ear to ear. "We did it!" He cheered. "Yes!" He looked down at the tired Chao and smiled. "That wasn't so bad, was it Snax?"

Shadow's grin turned from one of triumph to an evil smile as he turned to look down at Station Square.

He chuckled to himself, as he saw the lights switching on in many of the houses. "They'll be waking up now…" He said to himself. "And I know just what they'll do… Their mouths will hang open a moment or two, and those fools down in Station Square will all cry… 'boohoo'."

Meanwhile, in town, everyone was waking up. And just as Shadow thought, no one was happy to see everything gone.

Everyone gathered in the middle of Station Square, confused and upset at what happened.

Sonic and the others were there, too, each of them wanting answers. Except for Amy… she knew what had happened.

"This must have been Shadow's doing!" Espio shouted. "Who else would have done such a thing?"

"You mean he stole all our presents?" Charmy demanded.

"All the food?" Big asked.

"And the decorations?" Cream said with a whimper.

"He even short-circuited the lights!" Tails shouted.

"We should never have brought him here last night!" Said Vector. "We shoulda left him alone in his lair." Vector accusingly pointed a finger at Amy. "You're the one who invited him! What were you thinking?"

Amy just sighed sadly and turned away. "I… I'm sorry…"

The rest of the crowd agreed with Vector, and a riot came dangerously close to starting.

Sonic tried to calm everyone, but wasn't doing such a good job at it.

Amy, meanwhile, was feeling very bad. She was about to run home in shame when she heard a shrill whistle from Knuckles.

"Hey, knock it off!!!" He shouted, silencing the crowd. "Look at yourselves people! Yesterday you were singing songs about 'peace on earth' and acting all cheery and good natured. But now that we don't have a bunch of toys and lights you all act like you want to lynch poor Amy! and why? Because she wanted to share Christmas with someone? Well let me tell you, if this is what's become of you I'm glad Shadow took our presents!"

"Glad?" Sonic asked. "Knux, you're glad Shadow ruined Christmas?" The others muttered their agreement.

"No Sonic." Knuckles replied. "He didn't ruin Christmas. No one can do that. Because it isn't about the presents, or the decorations. It's more than that and… I just realized that that's what Amy has been trying to tell us."  
Amy smiled gratefully at Knuckles, as the crowd began to mull over what the echidna had said.

"You're right." Said Tails. "I'd gotten so wrapped up in that stupid Christmas light contest that I've been lighting my house with candles!"

"We both acted childishly." Rouge agreed.

"We all did." Knuckles continued. "Except for Amy. I say, instead of accusing her we should thank her. We have our friends and family, and I think that's all we need for Christmas!"

The crowd cheered their agreement, and everyone began to smile again.

Even Sonic admitted he'd acted childishly, and took Knuckles' words to heart.

Everyone in Station Square joined together in singing Christmas carols now, as they stood around the unlighted tree. Amy, however, turned to Mt. Jump-it, a determined look on her face. She knew what she had to do now.

---

Only one chapter to go!

Sorry I didn't include the Grinch song. For one thing it was hard to figure out a way to work the name Shadow into it instead of Grinch, and for another FF has changed it's rules since I began this thing, and the last two Christmas stories I've done were deleted, so I don't wanna take the chance with this one.

Remember to review!


	8. A Happy Ending

Okay, so I didn't finish this by Christmas. So what? At least it's done before another year passed. lol

Please enjoy the last chapter of How Shadow Stole Christmas, and thank you for reading it!

(I do not own any of these characters.)

At the top of the mountain, Shadow laughed to himself. He was certain his plan had worked. "And now for the climax in my symphony of downright-nasty-not-niceness!" He said. "The crescendo of my odious opus!" Shadow began pushing on the sleigh, inching it closer and closer to the edge of the cliff at the top of the mountain.

Shadow pushed with all his might, ready to push the sleigh over. But then he stopped.

"_Shadow heard a sound rising over the snow. It started out low… but started to grow."_

Shadow blinked in confusion as he heard the strange sound, and moved away from the sleigh and climbed down to the ledge in front of his lair to listen in a little better.

"_But this sound wasn't sad. Why, this sound sounded… glad. Everyone down in Station Square, the tall and the small, was singing… without any presents at all! He hadn't stopped Christmas from coming. It came… somehow or other…"_

"It came just the same!" Shadow growled, as Snax followed him down to listen to the music coming from the town below.

"_Shadow stood there, with his air shoes ice cold in the snow. He puzzled and puzzled."_

"How could it be so?" Shadow demanded, taking off his hat and wringing it in his hands. "It came without ribbons… it came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags!" Shadow's face wrinkled in confusion. How had this happened?

"_He puzzled and puzzled, till his puzzler was sore… Then Shadow thought of something… he hadn't before…"_

Shadow's eyes became wide, as a thought came to him. "Maybe Christmas…" He said. "…Doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas… perhaps… means a little bit more."

It was then he remembered Maria's words, about how gifts were the perfect way to show someone you loved that you cared. But only now did he realize that it was the love that it represented, and not the present that was most important.

Suddenly, Shadow felt an odd feeling in his chest, and gasped. He fell to his knees growled as if in pain. "Snax!" He called. "Help me! I'm… feeling!" Snax just rolled his eyes.

"_And what happened then? Well, in Station Square they say… that Shadow's small heart grew three sizes that day."_

Shadow, now allowing himself to feel emotions he thought he'd rid himself of years ago, began to cry. "What's happening to me…?" He asked. But then, he looked up and saw the sun rising in the east, casting a warm glow on the world that Christmas morning.

Oddly enough, Shadow found himself smiling. "I'm all… toasty inside." He said. He wiped the tears from his face and looked at them on his hand. "…and I'm leaking." He turned to his Chao and smiled. "Oh Snax…" Snax tilted his head to the side in confusion. "I… I love ya!" Shadow held his arms open and Snax gladly flew into them, kissing Shadow's face all over. "Okay, okay…" Shadow laughed. "All right, that's enough… stop it Snax… Enough now! **Enough!**" Snax jumped away as Shadow stopped laughing and returned to normal. "One step at a time Snax!" Shadow sighed and looked up. It was then that he saw the sleigh sliding over to the edge of the cliff. "Oh no! The sleigh, the presents… they'll be destroyed! And I care! What… is the deal?!"

Shadow jumped up and ran to the sleigh and grabbed it by the bumper, desperately trying to pull it back. But it was too heavy.

Shadow, still hold the sleigh bumper, stopped pulling and sighed. "Oh well." He said. "It's just toys, right?"

But then, he looked up and saw Amy looking down at him from the top of the large load in the sleigh. "Hi Shadow!" She called.

Shadow gasped. "Amy? What are you doing up there?!"

"I came to see you." She replied. "I didn't want you to be alone on Christmas."

Shadow was surprised by her answer… but it also made him happy for some reason. He smiled up at her, and she returned his smile warmly.

But then, the sleigh shook, and Shadow remembered that it was sliding to the edge of the cliff. Amy realized what was going on, as well, and whimpered in fear.

Shadow, with new determination, narrowed his eyes and gave another pull. This time, the sleigh began to move.

"_And so, with the true meaning of Christmas shining through, Shadow felt the strength of ten hedgehogs, plus two!"_

Shadow pulled with all his might, and found he had more strength then ever before. He pulled, and the sleigh moved away from the cliff, and he even managed to lift the sleigh over his head!

"I've got you Amy!" He called up.

"You did it!" Amy cheered, and Snax cheered as well.

A little later, the sleigh was flying down the mountain, headed back to Station Square, with Amy and Snax at the controls. Shadow, meanwhile, for reasons unknown, decided he'd sky behind. He held onto a rope hooked to the sleigh and glided on his air shoes.

As he skied down the mountain, Shadow smiled from ear to ear, as he enjoyed the Christmas morning sun. He then turned a bit, but found himself going up a slope the took him up and around the sleigh.

With a worried shout, he flew around to the front of the sleigh and hit the large bag in the back, before falling onto the hood of the vehicle in front of Amy.

"Shadow!" She shouted worriedly. "Are you alright?!"

Shadow had been laying there for a moment, but just lifted his head and smiled. "Are you kidding?" He asked. "The sun is bright and the powder's bitchin'!" Amy laughed, now that she knew Shadow was alright. "Now scoot over, it's my turn to drive!"

Amy did as she was told, and Shadow sat down in the driver's seat. They soon saw Station Square, as they drew ever closer.

"I'd better slow this buggy down." Said Shadow, as he pulled the brake. But as the brake was only an old boot attached to some hinges and springs, it broke, and the sleigh sped towards Station Square. "Huh?" Shadow asked.

"We're gonna crash!" Amy cried in terror.

Shadow turned to her with a serious look on his face. "Now you listen to me Amy," He said. "Even if we're _horribly _mangled… There'll be no sad faces on Christmas." Shadow smiled, and Amy returned the smile.

But when they turned around and saw Station Square coming up faster and faster they both screamed.

Down in Station Square, everyone heard the scream and turned to see the sleigh coming faster and faster towards them.

"Amy?" Cream asked. "What's she doing in that sleigh?"

"It's outta control!" Vector shouted. "Run for your lives!"

Sonic saw it, too. "We've gotta do something!"

Thinking fast, Tails ran to his house and pulled down the Christmas lights, no longer caring about them now that his friends were in danger. "Rouge, help me with this!" He called, and Rouge helped him right away, also pulling down her own lights to make a rope.

Rouge along with Espio, and Tails along with Sonic each grabbed an end and pulled the light rope across the sleigh's path.

"Move outta the way!" Shadow called. "I have no insurance!"

The sleigh roared down the street, as people jumped out of its way, and when it reached the light rope it just plowed on, dragging Sonic, Tails, Rouge and Espio with it. It made its way towards the center of town, headed right for the tree.

Just then, Knuckles walked into its path and held up his hands, determined to try and push it back.

"Knuckles, move!" Amy pleaded when she saw him.

"Yeah Knucklehead, move it!" Shadow shouted.

The sleigh reached Knuckles, but instead of him pushing it back, it pushed him back.

The sleigh kept going forward into the tree, but just when it looked like Knuckles would be squashed, the sleigh slowed down and finally stopped.

Shadow breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks for the help Knuckles." He said. Knuckles nodded in reply, and breathed his own sigh of relief. Shadow stood up and turned to the crowd that had formed. "Merry Christmas one and all!"

Sonic got back to his feet and walked up to the sleigh. "Well, what do we have here?" He asked.

Shadow turned to his blue rival. "You got me Sonic!" He said, jumping down from the sleigh. "I did it! I'm the Shadow who stole Christmas!" Shadow's grin faded. "And I'm… sorry." Shadow waited a moment before looking confusedly at Sonic. "Aren't you gonna have the cops take me away? Declare something about justice or some such crap and haul me away?"

Amy jumped out of the sleigh and stood in front of Shadow. "Don't you dare Sonic!" She said. "Shadow's learned from his mistake and he only wanted to fix everything."

Sonic grinned. "Oh really?" He asked. "Is that so?" Amy and Shadow nodded. "Hmm… Well, it looks like everything's accounted for. What do you think folks? Should we forgive him, in the spirit of Christmas?"

There was a bit of hesitation, but soon everyone voiced their agreement.

"Well Shadow," Sonic continued. "Looks like we all forgive ya."

"Thank you Sonic." Said Amy.

"Don't mention it." Sonic held out his hand. "So Shadow… what say we put the past behind us and start getting along? I'm willing to if you are."

Shadow paused for a moment, but smiled and shook Sonic's hand. "Sure thing… Faker." The two hedgehogs smiled in a friendly way, as they shook hands, and everyone cheered.

After Shadow returned everything to their rightful owners, he fixed the short circuit in the giant Christmas tree, restoring power to everyone's lights.

The crowd cheered again, and Amy tapped Shadow on the shoulder. When he turned to her, she smiled. "Merry Christmas Shadow." She said. Shadow smiled back, but was surprised when Amy kissed his cheek. She moved away and had a strange look on her face. "Shadow… your cheek is so…"

"I know." He said with a sad frown. "Hairy."

"No…"

Shadow became confused. "Greasy? Stinky? Do I have a zit?"

"No…" Amy smiled. "Your cheek is so… warm."

Shadow smiled back, and they walked hand in hand over to where the others now stood around the tree, singing Christmas carols.

Later, the time came for Christmas dinner, and Shadow sat with the rest, just as much a part of their little family as everyone else. And for that, he was glad.

"_And then, Sonic and his friends sat down to a feast. And he… he himself, Shadow… carved the roast beast."_

Shadow carved pieces for everyone, even a piece for Snax, who sat on next to Amy. Amy, meanwhile, sat next to Shadow, who smiled happily.

"Nothing like the holidays." He said. "Who wants the gizzard?!"

"I do!" Big called.

"Too late! That'll be mine…"

"_We hope your Christmas is never blue. Happy Holidays… from us to you."_

The End


End file.
